CPS touts shorter process of inquiry

Officials say 75% of 10,000 backlog cases are cleared

State child-welfare officials on Wednesday touted a review of nearly 10,000 "inactive" child-abuse and neglect cases, saying they have cleared three-fourths of the backlog.

That includes 900 cases abandoned by caseworkers who abruptly resigned over the past two years. An additional 2,700 cases await a comprehensive review, the remainder of a backlog officials blamed on budget cuts, tougher caseloads, staff turnover and redundant paperwork.

A new, shorter internal process, which began testing in three field offices last week, is aimed at reducing the time it takes for Child Protective Services workers to complete investigations. The revisions stem from a private consultant's recommendation that investigations could be pared to 40 days from the current average of six months or more.

State Department of Economic Security Director Clarence Carter, who oversees CPS, said he expects the new process to reduce caseloads and prevent a future case backlog.

But he also said less time spent entering data on the computer would allow caseworkers to spend more time with children and families, so it's unclear how that would reduce caseloads.

Some of the 9,903 inactive cases, dormant for 60 days or longer, went to 2009, said Deb Harper, a 20-year CPS employee and member of a 14-person team that has been reviewing the cases since August. A November update showed that 70 percent of the cases had prior CPS reports.

Harper said she had never seen caseworkers resign without closing out their cases.

"A lot of our seasoned investigators were leaving the agency because of the workload demands," she said, and some of those workers left behind caseloads of 80 or more cases.

Turnover in child-welfare systems is typically high, and the latest Arizona figures show the annual rate at 26 percent for caseworkers and 28 percent for supervisors.

Veronica Bossick, deputy director for DES, said from 15 to 20 CPS caseworkers leave the job every month, and the agency is at least 60 workers short of its 970 authorized positions. The most recent DES statistics showed caseloads were about 60 percent above state standards.

Dana Wolfe Naimark, CEO of the Childrens Action Alliance, said a streamlined process could either allow workers to do more in-depth casework or reduce caseloads, but not both.

"It's certainly unclear at this point how the new tools will work and how much time they will save," Naimark said. "And it's unclear how much time will be needed to do the appropriate casework that wasn't being done before. It's premature to conclude that there won't be new backlogs."

She added that several recommendations from a gubernatorial task force, if implemented, would require more staff time and additional caseworkers. That includes widely supported proposals to expand family advocacy centers statewide and speed court cases for the youngest foster children.